Chapter Thirteen: You Cannot Defeat Me
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“I still think we should hope Master takes on a junior apprentice!” Zhao Rui chuckled.
“Haha, that was exactly what I said back then!”
The senior sister could not help smiling at that. When she had first realized she could not defeat him, she had thought the same thing.
They truly were disciples of the same master.
After chatting in the training hall for a while, they went their separate ways.
The martial arts school’s apprentices did not live there. Once training was over, they all returned to their own homes.
Although the eldest and second senior brothers were the master’s sons, both had married and established careers long ago. They lived elsewhere most of the time and had businesses of their own.
Zhao Rui made an excuse to linger for a while instead of leaving immediately. Then he activated the system panel in his mind.
“Name: Zhao Rui
…
Martial Arts:
Thirteen Taixing Palms (Proficient) +
Azure Cloud Palm (Proficient) +
Cloud Hands Plucking Stars (Proficient) +
Copyable Martial Arts:
Wing Chun’s Inquiry into the Way (98/100)
Advancement Points +1
…”
Looking at the information on the panel, Zhao Rui’s heart filled with delight. Cloud Hands Plucking Stars had finally reached the proficient level.
When a martial art reached proficiency, it meant that the martial artist had essentially mastered it completely and integrated every aspect of it.
To be proficient was to use the body as a cauldron and the will as a furnace, tempering every technique until it became imbued with innate qi.
At that stage, the martial artist had shed the form of techniques. Fist manuals and sword formulas were no longer dead things carved into bamboo slips, but rivers flowing through the meridians.
Every movement followed the heart, free of all obstruction.
Beyond proficiency lay the realm of qi transformation. Martial artists in that realm could no longer be measured on a scale of one to ten; they had transcended the tenth level.
Their techniques returned to simplicity. A fallen leaf or drifting flower could contain their innate true qi. A swordsman might cast aside his sword, yet a sweep of his fingertip through the air would carry the intent of a water-severing blade. A boxer might lower his stance, yet the act of breathing alone would generate primordial astral energy.
Martial artists at that level already possessed abilities akin to those of superhuman beings. Every movement they made contained astonishing power.
Zhao Rui knew little about that realm, and it was far too early for him to consider it.
Being able to reach proficiency before the college entrance examinations was already cause for immense joy.
Calming his mind and regulating his breath, Zhao Rui silently circulated the techniques of the Misty Divine Art. Qi flowed through his meridians as he suddenly unleashed a series of palm strikes.
His figure flashed like lightning. His movements were swift and elusive, like thunder tearing across the night sky.
His every move was no longer like before, when he had needed to counter each technique only after seeing it. His mind was clear, his nature revealed, and his actions flowed freely.
“Wonderful!”
After running through the palm technique once, Zhao Rui regulated his breathing and gathered his qi back into stillness. He could not help shouting out in satisfaction.
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Knock, knock, knock!
“Junior Uncle, what are you doing in there?”
The voice of his junior grandniece came from outside the door.
Zhao Rui walked over and opened the training hall’s door, which he had deliberately bolted shut earlier.
The first thing he saw was Li Lanting, his junior grandniece, studying him with a strange expression.
Her gaze, in particular, kept drifting toward his lower body.
Zhao Rui felt a chill run through him under her stare. Putting on a stern face, he said, “What are you doing? Have you finished your homework?”
“You’re feeling guilty! Don’t worry, Uncle. I won’t tell Grandpa or the others. You’re a man, after all. I understand!”
“What the hell do you understand?”
Zhao Rui was speechless. The girl was far too precocious. He really could not let her look at his phone.
“Go finish your homework,” he scolded.
“You’d better find yourself a girlfriend soon, or you’ll break out in acne!”
Li Lanting ran toward the front courtyard, covering her mouth as she giggled.
Zhao Rui could not be bothered to respond. He changed his clothes, got on his bicycle, and rode out through the pharmacy’s gate.
The summer night breeze was hot and dry. Outside, the streets were brightly lit, and rows of streetlamps cast a dim yellow glow over the straight concrete road ahead.
The college entrance examinations were almost here.
Which university should he attend?
Before acquiring the system panel, his highest ambition had been to enter an ordinary second-tier university within the province.
But now, with the panel’s assistance, he had already reached the proficient realm ahead of schedule. Passing the fourth-level martial artist examination would be effortless.
In that case, he could no longer set his sights so low.
At the very least, he would have to aim for a first-tier university, either within or outside the province—or perhaps even one of the country’s premier institutions.
As Zhao Rui considered the direction of his future studies, he pedaled toward home.
Suddenly, a spinning brown basketball came flying toward him from ahead at incredible speed, far faster than anything an ordinary person could throw.
A martial artist!
Zhao Rui reached out and caught it. With a surge of qi and a deft release of force, he spun the basketball on his palm like a circus performer.
Bracing his right leg against the ground, he looked toward two tall young men approaching from nearby.
“Well, well. A fellow practitioner! Which school are you from? You look vaguely familiar.”
The speaker was a handsome young man with sharply defined features. The corners of his mouth curled upward as he spoke with a hint of frivolity.
Zhao Rui glanced at him without replying. He tossed the basketball back, then prepared to ride away.
The young man caught it. Suddenly raising his eyebrows, he smiled.
“Oh, I remember now. It’s you!”
Zhao Rui gave him a smile that was somewhat forced, then pedaled away without another word.
“Brother Luo, you know that guy?”
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After Zhao Rui had left, the other young man asked the handsome one who had spoken earlier.
“Someone I defeated.”
The handsome young man casually smoothed back his hair, entirely unconcerned.
…
Municipal Martial Arts Association Ranking and Assessment Center
Zhao Rui rode into the parking lot on the back of Yang Fan’s motorcycle beneath the rosy dawn.
“If you pass the fourth level, don’t forget to treat me to KFC!”
“No problem!”
Zhao Rui drew a deep breath and walked toward the assessment center.
After locking the motorcycle, Yang Fan hurried after him. Gazing at the enormous building before them, he clicked his tongue in amazement.
“The Martial Arts Association sure is rich. This place is even more imposing than the municipal government building.”
The two climbed the steps and soon arrived in the lobby of the assessment center.
They found a staff member, handed over their identification, collected their queue number, and went to the corridor outside the examination rooms to wait.
They sat in their chairs.
“Look at all these people. Are they all here to be assessed for the fourth level? No way, right?”
Yang Fan sounded somewhat incredulous. After all, fifth-level martial artists were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns at school.
How could there be so many of them here?
There had to be more than twenty.
“This is only the city. There will be even more at the provincial level. Sixth- and seventh-level martial artists are nothing unusual there,” Zhao Rui replied.
“Thank goodness I never forced myself to train too hard. Clearly, a person needs to know their own limitations!”
Yang Fan chuckled. He was about to make another self-deprecating remark when a voice suddenly came from across the hall.
“Well, what a coincidence. You’re here for an assessment too, aren’t you? The fourth level? That was fast!”
He looked up and saw two tall young men he did not recognize.
“Just lucky. Your strength must have put you at the fourth level long ago, right?”
By then, Zhao Rui had already answered the other man.
“I’m only accompanying a classmate. Sorry, but even if you are a fourth-level martial artist, you wouldn’t stand a chance against me.”
The speaker was the same young man with the basketball whom Zhao Rui had encountered on the road earlier.
“Damn, aren’t you arrogant? Who do you think you are?”
Yang Fan immediately bristled at those words.
The young man was not angered in the slightest. He merely smiled with the same calm indifference.
“I just passed the sixth level.”
“Sixth…”
The rest of Yang Fan’s words caught in his throat. He stammered for a moment, then fell silent.
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